The other day I was thinking about my past and the past of people in general. I was wondering why some people turn back to a sinful life or they just can’t surrender everything at the feet of Jesus. Was our past and all its sins that good? Did it bring us all love and happiness and no consequences? Today, it is imperative for both you and me to introspect and ponder upon the question… ”Return to What?”
A well-known proverb says, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.” The way we used to live before Jesus was and is foolishness. If you and I are honest, we were complete fools. We said and did a whole lot of crazy, wicked stuff. The phrase “dying to ourselves” can be found all through out the New Testament. It is mandatory for us to leave our past behind and strive to live as a new creature in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). The act of surrendering ourselves is not just a singular occurrence, but rather an ongoing journey that spans our entire lives so “Return to What?”.
When we look at the life of the Apostle Paul, he understood that “Return to What?” would nullify everything that Christ had died for. Paul said in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
My encouragement to you is to lean into the strength and power available to us by way of the Holy Spirit because returning to our old way of life is just like when Peter was talking about the false prophets and teachers. He said in 2 Peter 2:21 and 22, “It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”…. “Return to What?”